Locking container bracket

ABSTRACT

For a container-carrying flat deck railroad car, a locking container bracket of the adjustable type having a support leg pivotally and slidably attached to the car side sill and to the container supporting bracket mountable on and stored within the deck, the seat of the bracket having disposed thereabove a pivotal lock element having one portion lockingly receivable in the aperture of a corner casting of a container and having the other portion moved by the container attendant to moving the locking portion into the aperture of the corner casting for retaining the container on the bracket.

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] InventorsRalphW.Dobson Calumet City, "1.;

Roy W. Miller, Highland, Ind.

mmw ((3( 66 66 3 H 33 6 6 S mm m m 11 R s n n u r "0" O mm m M mm mn unay mm m m mm m w flnum M hm El hm n .nm ow 0 t ma r. YV SBGT m. O 6788d 2466 n 9999 H0 l flflhm 779 Md 3 894 Es 8252 y W 04 9 m 7299 0 v v nn233 PA w t a m w m m l n 8 6 .m m ma 3 9 0r 3 on 143w svnnumo 7 2% c7N]. Ca 0 C N we d P i Phm$ AFPA fizflfls La -47 ABSTRACT: For acontainer-carrying flat deck railroad car, a locking container bracketof the adjustable type having a support leg pivotally and slidablyattached to the car side sill and to the container supporting bracketmountable on and stored within the deck, the seat of the bracket havingdisposed thereabove a pivotal lock element having one portion T E K m Bm F 8 I A.m Tw m 0 C5 s mm m C 01 L1 4 U 105/366, lockingly receivablein the aperture of a comer casting of a container and having the otherportion moved by the container attendant to moving the locking portioninto the aper- 511 int. soFieldofSearch............................................

ture of the corner casting for retaining the container on the bracket.

PATENTED mas |97l sum 1 or 2 INVENTORS RALPH w DOBSON ROY w MILLER 8 7ATT'X LOCKING CONTAINER BRACKET SUMMARY The invention relates to animprovement in the type of mounting on a flat deck car for receiving acontainer. The invention in particular relates to a type of cornerbracket arrangement which is movable lengthwise of the flat deck tosupport containers of different sizes and yet which may be stored out ofsight and clear and free of the flat deck when not in use so that othertypes of lading may be stored on the railroad car or permit the drivingof a motorized unit over the surface of the flat deck without hittingthe container bracket. The bracket is of the automatic or self-lockingtype wherein there is provided a locking element that is pivotally andresiliently held by the bracket and having one lever portion beingengageable with the seating of the container to move another locking armportion for passing through an opening in the bracket and in theaperture of the container corner casting for locking of the container tothe corner bracket. In vertical view the locking element of the cornerbracket is somewhat C- shaped or U-shaped to provide a lower containerengaging portion and an upper container securing portion horizontallyoffset from the container. the locking arrangement being resiliently andpivotally mounted below the container seating portion of the bracket topermit pivotal and shifting movement of the locking element or memberfor selective and alternate unlocking and locking positions with respectto the container mounted on the seat of the bracket. These and otherobjects and advantages of the invention will become more readilyapparent by reference to the following description and attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of aflat deck railroad car employing the subject invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the inventive locking containercorner bracket arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the railway car showing aside elevational view of the novel bracket;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the railway car showing the endelevational view of the novel corner bracket; and

FIG. 5 is a partial top plan view of the railroad car illustrating thenovel bracket in plan view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference now to thedrawings, there is shown a portion of a flat deck 2 of a railroad car 3which is also provided with the usual side sill or structure 5. The flatcar 3 may be of the cushion underframe type and provided with usualcoupling means 6 at each car end. The flat deck is provided with aplurality of comer bracket structures 7 disposed along the sides of thecar and intermediate the ends thereof which comer brackets areadjustable. The fiat desk is further provided with fixed end cornerbrackets 8. For transportation of trailers on the flat deck there areprovided the stanchion or trailer support structures 60 for supportingthe fifth wheel structure of a trailer.

The container corner brackets 8, 8 of the fixed type may be recessed inthe deck, or elevated into an in-use position to cooperate with theadjustable container comer brackets 7 for supporting a container 9.

The adjustable type corner bracket 7 which is best seen in FIGS. 2-5, isin the in-use or elevated position and in the outof-use or below deckposition in dotted line in FIG. 4. The corner bracket 7 is composed of apair of intercoupled hinge portions pivotally connected to theoverhanging portion of the deck 2 adjacent the side sill 5. The firsthinge portion of the container bracket is comprised of a support andconnecting leg or plate 10, the lower outer end of which is providedwith a curved or looped eye or end portion 11 about a rod or hingestructure 12 welded to the lower outboard side portions of the deck, thehinge pin structure 12 extending substantially the length of the deckfor pivotally supporting the leg or arm 10.

The deck has a rod I2 on either side thereof. Support element 10 is freeto move longitudinally of the car along the rod 12. The upper portion ofthe support leg 10 is provided with a pivot pin structure 13 on theinside thereof and pivotally carries the upper or container supportingcorner bracket element I4. To this end, the support arm 10 is slotted asat 15 for receiving the lugs of the upper container bracket element ormember I4.

The bracket element 14 is provided with side and transverse indexingwall portions 17 and 18 for guiding the corner of the container ontoseat 19 which is provided with load bearing support members 20, 21 andmember 22 transverse to members 20 and 21, the members l8, 17, 20, 21and 22 being at tached to the base or bottom wall 23 of element 14. Lugsor feet 24 extend from the base 23 are L-shaped in cross section andextend through the enlarged elongated openings 25 in the deck 2 withconventional support stringers 25a and are movable to the edge of theopening for preventing removal of the upper hinged element 14 from thedeck. A plurality of such apertures 25 may extend longitudinally alongeach side of the deck to permit the pair offeet 24, 24 ofeach upperhinged element to be placed at a plurality of locations.

The container bracket 7 is provided with a novel spring loaded removablecontainer locking pin means which is pivotally and slidably supported bythe bracket underneath the container seating portion and extends intothe corner fitting carrying area of the bracket. The details inoperation of the pin means 26 are described below. The indexing element18 carries the journals 33 and is attached to the seat 19 and base 23and side 17 and comprises upper sloped portion 180 and lower backingportion 180. The pin 13 fixed to the support arm 10 is carried in thejournals 33 of the upper hinge element 14 for pivotal transversemovement of element 14 inwardly and outwardly of the deck. The belowdeck receptacle 30 is generally rectangular and receives containerbracket portions or elements 10 and 14 for storage. The corner bracketstructure 7 may be moved from the stored position by grabbing the hingedelement 14 and moving it to the upright or in-use position with the feet24 in the deck apertures 25, as seen in FIG. 3, while the containerbracket 7 may be pivoted about the rod 12 from the receptacle 30 andmoved longitudinally onto the deck 2, the feet 24 of the bracketextending into the deck apertures 25 or through the openings 35a of theside sills. The hinged portions 10 and 14 of the bracket 7 lie flushwith the deck 2 in the stored position, and in the raised position areat an angle with one another to place the seat 19 in a horizontalposition.

The container bracket locking pin means 26 comprises a generally uprightsomewhat C-shaped like unitary elongated element or member 35 which hasan upper arm or catch portion 36 which extends into an opening 37 in thevertical portion 17a of the wall portion 17 extending above the baseplate 19, a portion of the opening 37 extending into the indexingsloping portion above the portion 17a of the wall portion 17. The end ofthe arm 36 is tapered and the opening 37 is of sufficient verticalextent to receive the end arm portion 36 therethrough. The member 35 hasan intermediate arm portion 38 connecting with the arm portion 36 andforming therewith a generally right-angle bend. The arm portion 38 atits lower end forms with a lower arm end portion 39 an approximateright-angle bend. The intermediate arm portion 38 has a slight angularbend in its end connections with the arm portions 36 and 39 toaccommodate passage of the end part 36 in and out of the aperture 37.The bent portion 40 formed by the lower arm end portion 39 and theintermediate arm portion 38 is trapped by and carried between a springor deflectable support V-shaped or cradle-shaped bracket 42 attached bybolt means to the lower wall portion 17b of the wall 17 below thecontainer support plate 19. A depending arm 42a is fixedly attached tothe underside of the base support 19, as by welding W, and extendsdownwardly to engage the upper surface of the bent or elbow portion 40with the underside of the elbow or pivot part 40 resting on the uppersurface of the bracket support member 42. The elbow portion 40 isspringingly held between the members 40 and 42 such that the element 35is allowed to pivot somewhat and at the same time slide horizontally ineither direction longitudinally of the car as viewed in FIG. 3 to permitthe tip or end arm portion 36 to move in and out of the opening 37 asthe lower free step end 43 of the end arm 39 is depressed by the cornerportion of a container 9 (as shown in dotted line in FIG. 3) or allowedto swing up through the opening 44 in the base member 19 (as shown insolid line in FIG. 3). The upper tip end or arm portion 36 is movedoutwardly of the aperture 37 by upward movement of the opening 9a in thecontainer 9 (see FIG. 3, dotted line) against the outer undersideportion of the tip part 36. The solid line position (FIG. 3) of theelement 35 shows the element 35 with its upper end 36 in the spacedefined by the base 19 and the wall 17 with the lower step end 43extending below the opening 44 of the base plate 19. The end arm portion39 with the step end 43 is horizontally offset with respect to theintermediate arm portion38, as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, to allow theend of the corner of a container to depress the step end 43. If it werenot for this offsetting of the lower end or tripping lever portion 39,the step 43 would extend into the comer casting opening in the bottom ofa container and would not therefore be depressed by a container to allowthe top or tip end or lock portion 36 to extend through the opening 37and into the side opening in the corner casting of the container.

Thus, it is seen that the container will allow depressing of the lowerend of the lock pin means to allow the upper end 36 to extend throughthe bracket aperture and into the container comer fitting aperture fortying of the container into the bracket; whereas lifting of thecontainer off of the base member 19 causes the upright side or endopening of the container comer fitting to push and deflect the upper tipend or arm portion 36 outwardly of the inside of the wall portion 17 tocause pivoting and shifting of the element 35 to allow withdrawal of thecontainer. The element 35 is deflected at its upper end causing upperarm 36 to move outwardly and release the container whereas when element35 is deflected at its lower end by the container this causes the lowerarm 39 to move downwardly and lock the container. It is to be noted thatthe spring bracket 42 allows pivoting and shifting of the element 35between the solid and dotted line positions upon coacting with themovement of the container as aforesaid, the element 35 being held ineither of two of said positions until moved by the container due to thespring action of the bracket member 42 which provides a snug fit for theelbow portion 40 between the bracket 42 and the depending arm 42a. Thelocking pin means extends longitudinally of the deck and generallypivots in a vertical longitudinally extending plane for selectiveinsertion of the respective end of the locking pin means through arespective aperture in either the end upright wall portion of thebracket or the horizontal base plate portion 19.

The foregoing description and drawings are given merely to explain andillustrate the invention, and the invention is not to be limitedthereto, since those skilled in the art who have the disclosure beforethem will be able to make modifications and variations therein withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. For a flat deck railroad car for carrying container means, asupporting bracket means comprising:

a container support bracket having a container seat having an openingand upright wall portion having an aperture; container bracket lockingmeans pivotally carried by said bracket and including an upper containerlock portion selectively extendable through the aperture of the uprightwall portion of the bracket for engagement with the opening in acontainer corner, said container bracket locking means having a triplever portion extendable through the opening in the seat of the bracketand adapted for engagement with the underside of the corner openingattendant to moving of the upper container lock portion into the corneropening,

said upper lock portion being in the form of an arm extendable throughthe opening in the upright wall portion and the lower trip lever portionbeing in the form of the arm having its end portion extending throughthe opening in the seat, each of the arms defining a lock member, thelower arm portion being in an angular relation with the upper armportion to define a pivot portion, a retainer attached to the undersideof the seat and retainer seat means below said retainer and mounted onthe bracket to define with the retainer an opening to snugly receive thepivot portion therethrough for pivotal and sliding movementlongitudinally of the deck.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and said member being generallyC-shaped and disposed about the outer portion of said upright wallportion and said seat.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and the upper locking portioncomprising a generally horizontally extending aperture entrance portionand a downwardly extending bent intermediate portion connectingtherewith and said lower trip lever arm portion having a diagonallydownwardly extending portion connecting with the intermediate portion todefine said pivot portion.

4. The invention according to claim I, and said pivot portion beingspringingly pivotally and slidingly movable between the retainer and theretainer seat means.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and said lock member being acontinuous member.

6. The invention according to claim 1, and said pivot portion being anelbow-shaped portion.

7. The invention according to claim 1, and said retainer seat beingsprung.

8. In a flat deck railroad car for carrying container means, asupporting bracket means comprising:

a container support bracket having a container seat having an openingand an upright wall portion having an aperture;

container bracket locking means pivotally carried by said bracket andincluding an upper container lock portion selectively extendable throughthe aperture of the upright wall portion of the bracket for engagementwith the opening in a container corner, said container bracket lockingmeans having a lower trip lever portion extendable through the openingin the seat of the bracket and adapted for engagement with the undersideof the corner attendant to moving the upper container lock portion intothe corner fitting opening;

a retainer attached to the bracket and retainer seat means below saidretainer to define with the retainer an opening to snugly receive thecontainer bracket locking means for pivotal and sliding movement of thelocking means.

9. The invention according to claim 8, and said retainer being attachedto the underside of the seat and said retainer seat means comprising aspringlike member urging said locking means against said retainer.

10. In a railroad car carrying container means a container supportingbracket means comprising:

a container support bracket having a container seat having an opening inthe seat and an upright portion having a lock receiving aperture in thewall;

container bracket locking means pivotally carried by said bracket andincluding a container lock portion selectively extendable through theaperture for engagement with the opening in the comer of a container;

said container bracket locking means having a trip lever portion underthe seat selectively extendable through the seat opening when theunderside of the container corner is lowered to depress the leverportion attendant to moving the container lock portion into the apertureinto the opening in the container corner;

said bracket having support means supporting said locking means, saidsupport means including means grasping said side of said seat andspringlike retainer seat defining a bearing with said upper retainer forfrictionally clasping said locking means to permit pivoting as well asshifting of said locking means.

1. For a flat deck railroad car for carrying container means, asupporting bracket means comprising: a container support bracket havinga container seat having an opening and upright wall portion having anaperture; container bracket locking means pivotally carried by saidbracket and including an upper container lock portion selectivelyextendable through the aperture of the upright wall portion of thebracket for engagement with the opening in a container corner, saidcontainer bracket locking means having a trip lever portion extendablethrough the opening in the seat of the bracket and adapted forengagement with the underside of the corner opening attendant to movingof the upper container lock portion into the corner opening, said upperlock portion being in the form of an arm extendable through the openingin the upright wall portion and the lower trip lever portion being inthe form of the arm having its end portion extending through the openingin the seat, each of the arms defining a lock member, the lower armportion being in an angular relation with the upper arm portion todefine a pivot portion, a retainer attached to the underside of the seatand retainer seat means below said retainer and mounted on the bracketto define with the retainer an opening to snugly receive the pivotportion therethrough for pivotal and sliding movement longitudinally ofthe deck.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and said member beinggenerally C-shaped and disposed about the outer portion of said uprightwall portion and said seat.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, andthe upper locking portion comprising a generally horizontally extendingaperture entrance portion and a downwardly extending bent intermediateportion connecting therewith and said lower trip lever arm portionhaving a diagonally downwardly extending portion connecting with theintermediate portion to define said pivot portion.
 4. The inventionaccording to claim 1, and said pivot portion being springingly pivotallyand slidingly movable between the retainer and the retainer seat means.5. The invention according to claim 1, and said lock member being acontinuous member.
 6. The invention according to claim 1, and said pivotportion being an elbow-shaped portion.
 7. The invention according toclaim 1, and said retainer seat being sprung.
 8. In a flat deck railroadcar for carrying container means, a supporting bracket means comprising:a container support bracket having a container seat having an openingand an upright wall portion having an aperture; container bracketlocking means pivotally carried by said bracket and including an uppercontainer lock portion selectively extendable through the aperture ofthe upright wall portion of the bracket for engagement with the openingin a container corner, said container bracket locking means having alower trip lever portion extendable through the openinG in the seat ofthe bracket and adapted for engagement with the underside of the cornerattendant to moving the upper container lock portion into the cornerfitting opening; a retainer attached to the bracket and retainer seatmeans below said retainer to define with the retainer an opening tosnugly receive the container bracket locking means for pivotal andsliding movement of the locking means.
 9. The invention according toclaim 8, and said retainer being attached to the underside of the seatand said retainer seat means comprising a springlike member urging saidlocking means against said retainer.
 10. In a railroad car carryingcontainer means a container supporting bracket means comprising: acontainer support bracket having a container seat having an opening inthe seat and an upright portion having a lock receiving aperture in thewall; container bracket locking means pivotally carried by said bracketand including a container lock portion selectively extendable throughthe aperture for engagement with the opening in the corner of acontainer; said container bracket locking means having a trip leverportion under the seat selectively extendable through the seat openingwhen the underside of the container corner is lowered to depress thelever portion attendant to moving the container lock portion into theaperture into the opening in the container corner; said bracket havingsupport means supporting said locking means, said support meansincluding means grasping said locking means for pivoting andreciprocably shifting of the lock means for either movement of the lockportion into the wall aperture or the lever portion into the seatopening.
 11. The invention according to claim 10, and said meansgrasping including a retainer portion mounted on the underside of saidseat and a springlike retainer seat defining a bearing with said upperretainer for frictionally clasping said locking means to permit pivotingas well as shifting of said locking means.